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Freeborn Corporate/M&A and Private Equity Practices Recognized by Chambers USA 2014

Freeborn & Peters LLP is pleased to announce that the firm has received high honors for its Corporate/M&A and Private Equity practices in Illinois in the 2014 edition of Chambers USA. The recognition in this year’s Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business guide involves the firm’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Industry Team, which advises private equity and venture capital firms on issues affecting their portfolio company investments.

“This Chambers USA recognition is a tremendous honor for our Corporate practice including our Private Equity and Venture Capital Industry Team,” said Michael Kelly, the firm’s Co-Managing Partner. “With Chambers, our clients have included Freeborn among the law firms with market-leading reputations for corporate work including M&A services and assisting private equity firms with acquisitions and other transactions. We are proud of our firm and attorneys’ accomplishments and successes.”

Chambers rankings are determined through independent research and confidential, in-depth interviews with clients and attorneys, as well as assessment of the volume, complexity and scope of the firms’ and attorneys’ work. According to Chambers USA, clients hail Freeborn’s Corporate team as “very highly rated, very knowledgeable and well respected throughout the industry,” and commend the practice on providing good value for the money. 

“(Freeborn Corporate attorneys) tend to focus on the client and what needs to get done without an administrative approach,” according to another Freeborn client. “They have very good general attorneys and can back that up with expertise.” 

A Freeborn client also told Chambers that the firm “has gone to great lengths to understand our business in great detail to offer personalized and precise advice and service. Their team is very knowledgeable in each attorney’s sector. The quality of advice and service is first-class.”

Several of Freeborn’s Corporate attorneys were singled out for praise by clients, including:

  • Peter I. Mason, a Partner in the Corporate Practice Group as well as a Freeborn Founding Partner and Chairman of the firm’s Executive Committee – Mason was described by a client as “very strong and well rounded, with a huge corporate background.”
  • Jeff Mattson, a Partner and Co-Leader of the Corporate Practice Group – “We used (Mattson) on a private equity deal, and one of his biggest strengths in the process was negotiating with the private equity firms,” a client told Chambers. “(Mattson) understands what it takes to push a deal through.”
  • Brian A. Smith, a Partner in the Corporate Practice Group – “(Smith) can really get to the issue and knowing our objectives clearly,” according to a client. “He knows what to fight for and what to let go. He did a great job of articulating the risks and giving sound advice.”
  • Todd R. Southwell, a Partner in the Corporate Practice Group and Leader of the firm’s Renewable Energy Practice Group – One client noted about Southwell: “He has deep knowledge across a broad area, as well as specific subject-matter expertise. He makes a point of understanding the objectives of the project and stays true to them. He has a style about him that works – he is just very natural about how he does things. A unique guy.” 

Freeborn’s Corporate attorneys have a particular strength in helping middle-market companies achieve their full potential and have extensive experience providing strategic counsel on growth-oriented initiatives including financing, acquisition and joint ventures as well as essential operational areas including pricing, marketing and distribution. Freeborn’s attorneys also have decades of experience assisting private equity firms with platform acquisitions, add-ons, representation of portfolio companies and exit transactions. In addition to working on hundreds of M&A transactions, team members have vast experience working alongside private equity professionals and their portfolio company management teams on day-to-day operations – as outside general counsel and in some instances as in-house counsel or other senior executive positions at portfolio companies – to implement growth strategies and achieve profitable exits.

The Chambers USA guide annually ranks the leading U.S. firms and attorneys in a wide range of practice areas and is read and used for referral purposes by industry-leading companies and organizations worldwide. 

A full PDF of the Press Release is attached. 

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